Old Grudges and New Hatreds

These five children were all innate spirits born directly from heaven and earth; should they grow up, their futures would be truly limitless.

Chen Xiao let out a slow breath and asked, "Aside from here, is there nowhere else you can go?"

"That's not true. Our bodies haven't fully matured yet and require vast amounts of spiritual energy to replenish. If there is a place rich in spiritual energy, we can go there."

Xianxian was currently curled up in Chen Xiao's arms, showing great dependence on him. Having left that ancient, rustic bridge, her vitality had begun to gradually recover.

"A place rich in spiritual energy..."

Chen Xiao pondered for a moment, then said, "You all hide well for now and don't come out. I will come to pick you up in a while."

Looking at these five spiritual entities born of heaven and earth, Chen Xiao couldn't help but think of his little sister, Chen Yao. If she were still alive, she would be about this age, wouldn't she?

Chen Xiao sighed. Although he had been reborn, he had only returned to the age of sixteen. Had it been any earlier, perhaps he could have changed his little sister's fate. This remained his only regret in his current life.

However, since the heavens had already granted him a second chance, even if some regrets could not be undone, Chen Xiao would cherish those before him all the more.

Chen Yao was four years younger than Chen Xiao and possessed an Innate Severed Meridian Body. This was a special constitution where the meridians were naturally blocked by spiritual energy, making cultivation impossible. Yet, once this constitution was opened, it was only a notch inferior to Chen Xiao's current Immortal Spirit Root.

Because of this, the family had risked using vast resources to force open her meridians when she was three. Naturally, it ended in failure; Chen Yao's meridians were shredded by the violent spiritual energy, her internal organs were damaged, and she ultimately perished.

It was for this very reason that Chen Xiao had resisted cultivation since childhood. No matter how great his aptitude, he had lost all interest in it. Having lost his beloved little sister and rejected cultivation, his personality had changed drastically, eventually leading him to become the debauched young master on the streets of Moon-Gazing City.

The members of the Chen Clan knew the reason for this. Chen Tiannan had already lost one young child and was unwilling to let this son suffer further, so he had let him be.

Otherwise, given Chen Xiao's aptitude, no matter how unpromising he was, Chen Tiannan would have locked him away and forced him to cultivate. How would he have ever had the chance to be a dissolute young master?

Now, seeing these five divine children, Chen Xiao thought of his lost sister, and an indescribable emotion welled up in his heart.

Reborn, Chen Xiao understood the value of cherishing things more than ever before, for he understood that once some things were lost, they could never be recovered. He did not believe his luck was good enough to be reborn again.

"Hide here for now; I will come back to get you later." Chen Xiao placed Xianxian on the ground and spoke.

He now understood that, in reality, Xianxian and the others were not under any binding; it was merely that stone bridge which was strange, capable of drawing in their spiritual power and causing them to lose the ability to move.

At present, Nangong Shenyao was busy discussing something with Nangong Wenyue outside and would not be coming over for a while. Moreover, Nangong Wenyue had clearly suffered a severe blow to his vitality from trying to refine Xianxian, so Chen Xiao was not worried about them discovering any clues.

Xianxian, along with the other four little imps, nodded, and their bodies vanished into the river of spiritual energy above in a flash.

Chen Xiao retreated from this space without a sound.

"Wenyue, what are your plans now? The Chen Clan has produced an Immortal Spirit Root; this is not good news."

At this moment, Nangong Shenyao was still conferring with Nangong Wenyue. While Nangong Shenyao was nominally the mine supervisor, he was, in truth, the hub connecting the Nangong Family to the depths of Mingyu Mountain.

"It is indeed difficult to handle." Nangong Wenyue frowned. "My father has his own plans; it is not for me to worry about. Thirteen years ago, we were able to destroy an Innate Severed Meridian Body of the Chen Clan; today, we can destroy an Immortal Spirit Root just the same."

Nangong Wenyue sneered, "Even if they have the protection of the Glazed Heaven Palace, so what? Moon-Gazing City will be in the pocket of the Nangong Family sooner or later."

Nangong Shenyao remained silent. Although his cultivation had reached the Division Spirit Realm and he was a deacon of the family, his actual status was not equal to that of Nangong Wenyue. Nangong Wenyue had already been designated as the next head of the Nangong Family, and his position was unshakable.

Chen Xiao silently withdrew from the area. He forcibly suppressed the rage in his heart; from Nangong Wenyue's words, he had realized that his little sister had not died by accident while trying to open her meridians—she had been murdered by the Nangong Family.

He could imagine that if he hadn't resisted cultivation all these years and wandered the streets, he would likely have already died under the Nangong Family's schemes.

"Nangong Family, heh, this time we shall settle our new and old grudges together."

Chen Xiao gritted his teeth and retreated to the mountain cavern space outside.

"How is the setup coming along?"

Chen Xiao approached Cai Di and asked.

"It is almost finished. Once the grand formation is activated, I am eighty percent certain I can refine everyone here into Poison Chiefs."

The Poison Immortal Cai Di was full of confidence, though a moment later, he added with some concern, "However, there seem to be a few figures at the Integrated Body Late Stage guarding this place. If they discover any traces, it will be easy for them to break my poison formation."

"Integrated Body Late Stage figures... they must be the hidden elders of the Nangong Family. Can you not refine them into Poison Chiefs as well?"

Chen Xiao frowned; he was itching to have Cai Di activate the poison formation immediately and destroy the foundation of the Nangong Family.

"Unless my cultivation reaches the late stage of the Tribulation Transcendence, the Infant Shadow Poison cannot affect those in the Body Integration Realm." Cai Di shook his head. Although the Infant Shadow Poison was tyrannical, it was useless against those of the same or higher cultivation level; the minimum requirement for the poison to work was that the target be at least one realm lower than the poisoner.

Although Chen Xiao possessed some of the Ten Thousand Poisons Sect's heritage, he had not studied it; both the Talisman Dao Precious Record and the Nine Heavens Thunder Virtue were superior to the Ten Thousand Poisons Return to Sect.

"I understand."

Chen Xiao nodded, then flipped his hand, and a jade talisman appeared in his palm.

The materials for crafting talismans were graded; the lowest were yellow paper and cinnabar, while higher grades used beast hides and the blood of demonic beasts. The best material for talismans, however, was high-quality raw jade.

Currently, most of the talismans Chen Xiao crafted were low-grade, using yellow paper and cinnabar, with slightly higher-grade ones made from demonic beast hides.

There was some high-quality raw jade in the Golden Immortal Kingdom, but Chen Xiao's current cultivation was limited, and he could not carve high-level talismans. Using raw jade for low-level talismans would be a waste.

This piece of talisman jade was an Heaven-Concealing Talisman left behind by the Talisman Treasure Golden Immortal, the highest-grade talisman Chen Xiao could currently use.

Chen Xiao slowly merged the Heaven-Concealing Talisman into his body. In an instant, a faint, imperceptible light flashed across his skin, and then, to the astonishment of Mengmeng and Cai Di, his body vanished from sight.

This jade talisman was the true Heaven-Concealing Talisman. Once it was used, unless a true Immortal arrived, no one would be able to detect Chen Xiao's tracks.

After merging with the Heaven-Concealing Talisman, Chen Xiao sat cross-legged on the ground and began to slowly circulate the Nine Heavens Thunder Virtue Universal Transformation Art.